Ah, the life of a working musician never ends, never ends ‘ Like one of his mentors, Palisades Symphony founder Joel Lish, David Kamenir plays piano with his band at weddings, bar mitzvahs, and other functions, including his weekly appearances locally at Kehillat Israel. But performance alone doesn’t float this Pacific Palisades-raised jazzer’s boat. Kamenir has five self-produced albums under his belt, including ‘There Are No Delis in Ensenada’ (2002), ‘Searching’ (2004), and ‘Pun Addict’ (2006). And, ‘ propos for the holidays, two 2003 albums ”’Rock B’Ivrit’ and ‘Jazzy Holidays”’feature Kamenir’s savvy riffs on holiday standards of the Chanukah and Christmas variety. Kamenir’s career has been an eclectic one. The musician, who has collaborated with popular Jewish-community entertainers Craig Taubman and Debbie Friedman, performed ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ at the 1984 Olympics’ opening ceremonies. He has composed two musicals, ‘Gotta Dance’ and ‘The Cardigan Christmas Show,’ and commercial jingles for Winston Tires and Mattel. On ‘Jazzy Holidays,’ Kamenir covers his favorite Yuletide chestnuts, ‘The Christmas Song,’ and ‘Christmas Time is Here’ (from the classic ‘Peanuts’ cartoon). ‘Thanksgiving Hymn,’ ‘Auld Lang Syne,’ and a boogie-woogie ‘Jingle Bells’ round out this festive CD. ’Rock B’Ivrit’ collects Hebrew compositions performed in klezmer, bossa nova, country and pop fashion. Listeners familiar with Jewish music will recognize ‘L’cha Dodi’ and ‘Adon Olam,’ although Kamenir puts his stamp on these Jewish campfire-worn classics. Likewise, ‘No Delis’ features his jazzy rendition of the Yiddish tune ‘Bei Mir Bistu Schein,’ and Jewish standards ‘Shalom Alechem’ and ‘Hava Nagila.’ Born in 1954, the musician, 54, has been playing at Kehillat Israel every Saturday morning for 16 years. ‘I don’t live in the Palisades,’ the Tarzana resident says, ‘but I seem to spend every weekend here.’ Kamenir enjoyed what one might call a charmed childhood. From age five to 18, he grew up near the Riviera Country Club in a D’Este Drive home which bordered the homes of Rod Serling and Randy Newman. ‘He came to my bar mitzvah,’ Kamenir says of Serling, conjuring up a bizarre nonsequitur. After all, who among us would want to be at a family function and turn to find the mysterious, ultimately creepy and spine-tingling host of ‘The Twilight Zone’ standing there. ‘He and his wife gave me $10,’ Kamenir adds. Of course, in addition to introducing episodes, Serling created and wrote the demented science fiction program, and he even borrowed Kamenir’s family name for a ‘Twilight Zone’ episode called ‘Twenty-Two’ (although Serling tweaked the spelling for his Barney Kaminer character). Serling’s house stood adjacent to the Kamenir backyard. ‘I used to bury my pet chameleons on the side of the house that bordered Rod Serling’s,’ Kamenir recalls. ‘I’d always end up seeing him. This was around 1964 [the year ‘Twilight Zone’ ended its five-season CBS run].’ Bordering the other side of the Kamenir property was the home of a young Randy Newman, on whom Kamenir’s mother would call the cops when the future singer/composer played music at 2 a.m. Kamenir has warm memories of catching flicks at the Bay Theatre and shopping at the Brentwood Country Mart. ‘I’m upset that Mort’s Deli is gone,’ he adds. Like many a Palisadian, he attended Paul Revere Middle School and Palisades High School (class of ’72) before attending college at Cal State Northridge and UCLA, where he led jazz bands. In truth, Kamenir’s professional career began a year before his bar mitzvah, when he was hired as an accompanist at Sinai Temple in Westwood. By 16, Kamenir became the band leader of his own music ensemble, playing life-cycle events. Kamenir studied piano with Robert Turner, Erwin Jospe, jazz pianist Paul Smith, and, while attending PaliHi, Joel Lish. Kamenir became the music director at Camp Ramah in Ojai and has worked in many synagogues, including Valley Beth Shalom and Steven S. Wise. He has been the music director at Adat Ari El in Valley Village since 1994, and he plays at Heschel Day School and Valley Beth Shalom. Working the local Jewish music circuit, Kamenir has been witness and contributor to its evolution. ‘The whole world of Jewish music has changed from traditional and staid and classical,’ he says. ‘It became more folksy and pop-y and jazzy. It’s become more of a potpourri.’ While the older, conservative contingent feel it’s a shonda to mess with traditional Jewish music, Kamenir notes, ‘I have mixed feelings about it. It keeps the kids and even many adults interested.’ Twice-divorced, Kamenir says, ‘My first wife was a cantor, the second was an opera singer, and after we split, she became a cantor.’ Indeed, Kamenir’s comic slant on life informs much of his original compositions. He wrote ‘Gotta Scat’ years before this original appeared on ‘Pun Addict.’ ‘The song came to me one night when I couldn’t sleep,’ Kamenir says. ‘I couldn’t get the phrase out of my head. I had just bought a new answering machine and while I was recording the outgoing message, a cat kept trying to get into my apartment. I would try to shoo it away by saying ‘Scat…cat.’ So when I finished recording the message, instead of saying ‘Have a good day,’ I signed off by saying ‘gotta scat.’ I finished writing the song the next day.’ Kamenir occasionally performs stand-up, and anyone listening to his lyrics can see that he takes life with a grain of salt. Take ‘No Delis”s title track, which grafts droll Dave Frishberg-style lyrics to bossa nova shuffling: When I say ‘Hasta la vista!’ it comes out ‘Shalom!’ I just speak Spanish when I need to. In other words, when I’m at home.’ The 2002 song was inspired when Kamenir found himself ‘the only Jewish guy with my non-Jewish friends on a trip to Ensenada. They’d rib me, everyone was eating tacos and enchiladas, and I was looking for a bagel. Literally, I came home from the trip and it just came right out. The tune has given Kamenir ‘immense fun that I can entertain people with it and not just a Jewish crowd.’ Four years ago, while on a trip to Europe, Kamenir entered an Innsbruck caf’ and asked the piano player if he could play a song. He dazzled his Austrian audience with ‘No Delis.’ Subsequently, an Austrian asked him, ‘Are you a traveling musician?’ Kamenir replied, ‘I’m just a tourist.’ The person laughed, suggesting this should be his next song title. Indeed, ‘Just A Tourist’ became ‘Pun Addict”s third track. Visit www.davidkamenir.com.
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